Fabric



Oct. 11, 1955 A. L. HELwlTH 2,720,226

FABRIC Filed April 11, 1950 IN VEN TOR.

United, .Sarti-Spaten' one@ 2,720,226 Patented' Gee' lill, 1955 YFABRIG. y Alfred L. Helwith, New Rochelle, N. Y.

Application April 11, 1950, Serial No. 155,203

6 Claims. (Cl. 139-426) The present invention relates to textilefabrics, and, more particularly relates to a textile fabric having anoptical ribbed effect transversely of the warp.

In my prior United States Patents Numbers 1,822,889 and 1,931,023 and mycopending applications for United States Letters Patent, Serial Number704,210, filed October 18, 1946, which matured into Patent No.2,522,225, on September 12, 1950; Serial Number 155,201, filed April 11,1950; and Serial Number 155,202, filed April 1l, 1950, the two latternow being abandoned, fabrics are disclosed having the desired ribbedeffect with which the present invention is concerned. I have nowdiscovered that such ribbed effect can be produced in still anothermanner.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to produce an opticalribbed effect of an improved character.

Another object is to produce such ribbed effect in a simple andinexpensive manner.

A further object is to provide a fabric having such ribbed effect whichcan be produced on conventional weaving machines by employingconventional weaving methods.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of theillustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated inthe appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein willoccur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention inpractice.

In accordance with the invention, the foregoing objects are accomplishedby providing a textile fabric having opposite smooth surfaces and anevenly woven warp and weft of the same color, the weft yarns being of auniform material, and the warp consisting of filament and spun yarnsarranged alternately in succession for producing the optional ribbedeffect.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a considerably enlarged plan view of a section of a textilefabric illustrating the invention.

Fig. 2 is a greatly magnified sectional view taken along the line 2-2 onFig. l.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a section of the textile fabric shown in Fig. lillustrating the normal appearance thereof.

Referring to the drawing in detail, there is shown a section of atextile fabric which is constructed of a .suitable weave, is of auniform color, and has smooth opposite surfaces in a sense that it isfree of any mechanical ribs such as may be produced by a special weave.

This fabric, however, is characterized by a rib appearance as shown at11 (Fig. 3), whereby the value of the fabric is enhanced. This ribappearance is purely optical in nature, as will be made apparenthereinafter, and is perfectly uniform and neat. The ribbed effect mayeX- tend either horizontally or vertically in the garment or articleformed from the fabric, but for manufacturing convenience is arranged toextend transversely of the warp because it is more practical to providea warp beam with a special arrangement of warp yarns or ends thantoattempt to` accomplish thesame resultl by specialoperation of theshuttleY carrying the weftyarns.

Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 2', this effect mayY be produced byarranginglthewarp yarns'forends so that they consist ofa-lternate`consecutive` spun-yarns 1'2 and filament yarns 14. p l v y By the termspun yarn-'is meant an assemblageofy discrete staple fibersor staplefilaments, eitlierfnaturalr or manufactured, laid and twisted togetherso as to form a continuous strand. For example, such staple fibers orfilaments may be composed of cotton, ax, or other vegetable fibers,Wool, silk, rayon or nylon, and the spun yarns may be composed of one ora mixture of two or more of such fibers or filaments.

By the term filament yarn is meant an assemblage of continuous strandsof indefinite length, such as rayon, nylon, or silk, or mixturesthereof. Compared to staple fibers, a filament possesses extreme lengthand often may be measured in thousands of yards without a break.

Spun yarn, as compared with filament yarn, is comparatively loose, hairyor bulky and dull in appearance, and filament yarn is quite smooth andlustrous, and appears to be laid together more compactly. Also, afilament yarn of a tensile strength equal to that of a spun yarn has asmaller diameter than the spun yarn. These characteristics whichdistinguish spun and filament yarns are advantageously utilized toprovide the contrast whereby the ribbed effect is produced.

In practicing the invention the spun yarn and filament yarn may becomposed of the same material, for example, nylon, rayon or silk or ofsmaller mixtures, or the spun yarn may be composed of fibers of amaterial or a mixture of materials different than the material ormixture of materials of the filament yarn. Also, all the warp yarns 12and 14 may be of about the same diameter, or the warp yarns 12 may be ofa greater or lesser diameter than the warp yarns 14.

The present invention also contemplates that the warp yarns 12 and/or 14are composed of a mixture of strands of the spun and filament type. Forexample, the yarn 12 may consist of a mixture of a major portion of spunstrands and a minor portion of filament strands and the yarns 14 mayconsist entirely of filaments or a mixture of a major portion offilaments and a minor portion of spun strands. Alternately, yarns 14consisting of such a mixture of strands could be alternated in thefabric with v yarns 12 consisting entirely of spun fibers.

The weft yarns 15 are preferably of uniform color, diameter andmaterial, and of the same composition as one of the warp yarns.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the presentinvention provides a regularly woven textile fabric having an opticalribbed effect which is produced in a simple, practical and economicalmanner. The fabric is readily produced on standard weaving apparatus byarranging the yarns on the warp beam as desired.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative andnot in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A textile fabric having opposite smooth surfaces, and beinginterwoven of warp and weft yarns of the same color, all of the weftyarns being of the same diameter and material, and the warp comprisingfilament yarns alternating in single succession with mixed yarnsconstructed of filaments and interspersed staple fibers.

2. A textile fabric as in claim 1, wherein all of said warp yarns are ofthe same material.

3. A textile fabric as in claim l, wherein said iilament and mixed yarnsare of different materials.

4. A textile fabric having opposite smooth surfaces, and beinginterwoven of warp and weft yarns of the same color, all of the weftyarns being of the same diameter and material, `and the warp comprisingspun ber yarns alternating in single succession with mixed yarnsconstructed of filaments and interspersed staple fibers.

S A textile fabric as in claim 4, wherein al1 of said warp yarns are ofthe same material.

6. A textile fabric as in claim 4, wherein said spun ber and mixed yarnsare of different materials.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Bloch Sept. 14, 1943 Womble May 14, 1946 BlochJuly 1, 1947 Moller Dec. 27, 1949 Crawley Oct. 28, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTSGreat Britain May 29, 1940

